| |  Re: Suggestions on a screen protector
 Originally Posted by blarelli  I finally big the bullet and ordered a GN. Should be arriving Monday or Tuesday, so now I guess I need to order a screen protector. I really hate the really cheap ones, so I thought I'd ask for suggestions for a good quality one.
Thanks. I wrote this up for someone in a different forum, but it might help you out. {copy, paste...}
It depends on what you want from your screen protector. There are lots of different factors to consider and different protectors do different things well. You won't find one that does everything well.
- Durability - While all screen protectors should protect your screen, some resist scratches to the protectors itself. Others are "self healing" so even if they get scratched the scratches will fade away over time, but this often comes with a rubbery feel
- Smoothness - do you want it to feel as smooth as the glass or have some rubbery-ness/grip to it
- Clarity vs Anti-Glare - These 2 almost directly oppose each other. Some screen protectors strive to be 100% transparent. Some feature anti-glare coatings, but that reduces clarity
- Oleophobic (i.e. oil resistant) - When touching your screen with your finger or holding it to you face, you often leave a lot of oil from your skin on the screen. Oleophobic screen protectors have a coating that repels oil, so they get much less oily. Again this can cause sacrifices in clarity and smoothness.
- Edge-to-Edge coverage vs display coverage - Do you want one that covers the entire glass face all the way to the edges (including capacitve buttons) or only covers the display. Some people say edge-to-edge protectors don't work well with cases that wrap around to the front (the case will push them off around the edges), but I've never had a problem. I guess it depends on the specific protector, case, and phone.
- Wet install (adhesive) vs dry install (static) - The more common static screen protectors just use static electricity to stick to the screen. They stick very well, but not as good as wet installed ones. Also it can be tricky to install them and not get any dust and bubbles under them and get them positioned just right. Wet installed screen protectors are much easier to install and stick better, but you have to wet the face of your phone, which some people are uncomfortable with. Also you have to wait hours for them to dry, whereas the static screen protector are ready to go immediately.
- Washable - I've even seen some static screen protectors say that you can peel them off, wash them and reuse them, but I'm skeptical.
- Cost - Some are extremely cheap, and some get very expensive. Generally you get what you pay for, but not always.
I'd say pick 2 or 3 things off this list that are most important to you and then do some research and ask questions.
When I was picking a screen protector for my Galaxy Nexus, I wanted (in order of importance) edge-to-edge protection, clarity, smoothness, and a dry installation. I did some research and bought the Boxwave ClearTouch Crystal. I've been very happy with it, although it does pull away a little around the edges. From what I've read, all static, edge-to-edge protector for the GNex do that because of the curved glass. But my case actually covers the edges and holds them down.
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